Pit Bull Attacks Lead Police to Stolen Checks

An investigation of two pit bull attacks that led to the arrest of an alleged crack dealer on Thursday yielded a second arrest for theft and forgery, according to court papers.

Shaday Hickson, 20, of 9 W. Ettwein St., Bethlehem, is accused of stealing a briefcase from a work vehicle parked in the neighborhood and then trying to cash a check that she found inside, an arrest affidavit says.

Hickson lives at the same address as Gerald D. Crowley, 34, who had been arrested on drugs and weapon charges. Police conducted a search of the home on July 8 following an investigation that revealed that Crowley’s pit bull, “Roxy,” had attacked a person and two other dogs and was neither vaccinated or licensed, the records say.

Inside, police said they found what they described as a dealer’s sized stash of crack cocaine and an illegal handgun.

According to the arrest affidavit for Hickson, police also observed checks belonging to a masonry company. As it turned out, those checks had been stolen on June 21 from a work vehicle parked at 18 W. Goepp St., which is less than 500 feet from 9 W. Ettwein, police said.

The victim, the owner of a masonry company, told police that his briefcase had been stolen between 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m., according to an affidavit. He put a stop-payment of those checks and three days later he received notification that someone tried to cash one of the checks at PNC Bank.

The check that the bank had confiscated was made payable to Sha-Day Hickson for $843.96, police said.

Police brought another search warrant to 9 W. Ettwein St. on Tuesday and found the other two stolen checks, according to the affidavit.

Hickson told police that she had found the briefcase in an alley and removed the checks, then forged the business owner’s signature on one of them and tried to cash it, the affidavit said. She told police she had money troubles from having a new baby.

Hickson was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of felony forgery and one count of theft from a motor vehicle. She was arraigned before District Judge Roy Manwaring and released on $10,000 unsecured bail.